The single most important lesson I learned at Disney Social Media Moms 2014

Disney provided discounted accommodations and park tickets and also provided the most magical experiences and perks. The DSMM sponsors provided product and helped make the magic happen. All opinions magical or otherwise are my own.

When one goes to Disney (World or Land) for a conference. There is so much to take away, it’s like you need a post-conference conference to wrap your head around it. There are so many intelligent, amazing, and wonderful speakers that the amount of information is beyond overwhelming.

But every night, and in the breaks where we were walking around the park, I was chatting with Mr. Serious with some of my take aways. The more I talked about them, the more I realized, I could really sum almost everything I learned up into one nice little tidy lesson with a big red bow on the top… it’s coming. I promise.

All 6 of us, the whole family, we all got on a plane to California. We woke up at 5:00 am and were out the door by 5:40. And, all smiles. Honestly, they stayed almost the entire time (do the 2 year old and 3 month old count, because I don’t think they do). It took team work, patience, love and some exhaustion on all parts to make our 5 day trip work.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” -Walt Disney. We talked about taking a family vacation. When the invite came, we were a little hesitant, but we registered, bought the plane tickets and didn’t look back. We were ALL IN.

“What ever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” -Walt Disney.

{photo credit: @hyku}

What was the most important lesson I learned? When you do it, do it right, do it well, do it 100% and then do it even better. Go ALL IN!

When Tom Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts talked about everything that was going on new with Disney including a Baltic Disney Cruise Line, Shanghai Disney, the Hong Kong Marvel-themed expansion, the FantasyLand expansion at Disney World and more, you know that they go ALL IN. They take the time, they plan it all out, and they make it 100% amazing.

{photo credit: @hyku}

“Only make the good stuff, and make less of it.” -Steve Jobs Excellent advice for anyone that works in a creative field via Jay Ward, Creative Director, Cars Franchise, Pixar – Cars Legacy Guardian

{photo credit: @hyku}

Jay Ward worked very closely with making sure everything was right with Cars Land and the Cars Franchise. When they were a month out from getting ready to open Cars Land, he visited, took one look at Lightning McQueen and said, “nope, the red isn’t right.” And, he got a new a new detail job that was finished just before opening. It’s that attention to detail, down to the small things , like making die cast cars from the characters in the movie to be traded (that don’t ride on tracks) that lets you know they go ALL IN. They don’t cut corners. There is nothing spared. And look, I matched Lightning!

Kathy Mangum, Executive Producer and Vice President Walt Disney Imagineering, spoke about her production of Cars Land. She discussed how she and her team actually drove along Route 66 for 10 days to capture the authenticity within the expansion of California Adventure. They spent over 10,000 hours on the creation. Starting from tiny mock ups of the park to something a little bigger, to something that was even bigger and able to be scanned into a computer for the rebar to be custom bent into shape.

“When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” -Walt Disney

{photo credit: @hyku}

And when everything was completed, the goal was obtained. Cars Land looks just like the movie. Right down to that stop light having a longer blink on the third blink. When they put in those cadillac mountains, they aren’t just part of the park, but they cover anything beyond Cars Land, so you are totally immersed in the park. They even got Larry the Cable Guy to record the safety messages and songs for the tractor ride. It’s that attention to detail that makes you feel like you are right in the movie. They went ALL IN.

{photo credit: @hyku}

Maxine Clark, Founder of Build-a-Bear Workshops, started her company in 2001, she left a high paying job. Why? She believed in her dreams. She knew it’s what she wanted to do. What she had to do. She was inspired and became an inspiration. With over 130 million build-a-bears created, I think it’s safe to say, quitting her job and committing to her dream of Build-a-Bear was a success. And, it wouldn’t have been without her going ALL IN!

{photo credit: @hyku}

Donald Driver, Super Bowl Champion, Dancing with the Stars winner and Social Media Expert wasn’t picked to be a football star. He had to dream big and give it everything he got. And, he had to make his success. He dealt with so many obstacles in his life head on, both on and off the football field. And, every single one of them he gave his 100%. If that meant leaving the football field to see his dying best friend. That’s what he did. Because he goes ALL IN.

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

Doug Bowman, Creative Director at Twitter spoke of a young lady (@makeastand) who tweeted that she was going to end Sex Trafficking. She started a lemonade stand that led to hundreds of children being bought out of slavery. And, there is now a documentary #StandWithMe about her story. She took to twitter, set a goal and even exceeded it. She went ALL IN!

“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” -Walt Disney

{photo credit: @hyku}

When we had two kids melting down and ready to be done for the night. We didn’t push them to see World of Color (I will get back to see it one day). Mommy took them back to the hotel for bed and daddy stayed up with them. It’s wasn’t ideal for all of us, but we committed to a family experience in the best way we could do it because we were ALL IN.

Life is hard. Every moment of every day we are faced with decisions. Do we give it our all? Do we put in 100%? Or do we rush through it, giving a less than stellar result?

A family vacation across the country with 4 kids 7 and under? It’s crazy to think about. But we committed to the trip. We worked out the details and we did it. Because making memories is something that is important to us. And, we will go ALL IN to make those memories happen!

We need to look for the big picture. See the important opportunities. Look at what matters and when we find it, go ALL IN!

Disney Land looks like so much fun! I LOVE your Walt Disney quote: “What ever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” This is how I try to live my life 🙂

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Krystyn has been blogging since 2005. She is a sarcasm-loving, straight-shooting, jeans and t-shirts wearing, wife and mom of four girls (ages 10, 8, 4 and 2). She blogs about life as a mom and wife and includes anecdotes, funny stories (both mommy and other), product reviews and more. She currently resides in the Atlanta suburbs.
email: krystyn at reallyareyouserious dot com Read More…

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Krystyn has been blogging since 2005. She is a sarcasm-loving, straight-shooting, jeans and t-shirts wearing, wife and mom of four girls (ages 10, 8, 4 and 2). She currently resides in the Atlanta suburbs.
krystyn at reallyareyouserious . com Read More…